Citroen C5 2.2HDi Exclusive Saloon Review

Good Points
This car is like a magic carpet! Let's face it. If you live in London, much of your time will be spent sitting in a traffic jam somewhere or another so what's important? Comfort and gadgets. This car has both of these in bucket loads! Once you do get moving, the C5 has adequate performance although it is a little more juicy than my Pug 406 and very much more juicy than my BX TZD Turbo which was two cars ago. It has an enormous load space as well with a button inside the tailgate (mine is an estate) which allows you to raise or lower the suspension to ease loading heavy objects. I recently went on a booze cruise to Calais and brought nearly three quarters of a ton of beer back with no problems. Behind the wheel, it is gorgeous to drive. The 2.2 litre 16 valve turbo diesel is very subdued even at motorway speeds. The tiptronic auto gearbox takes away all the aggro in traffic and the ride is something to behold. This is the first time in years that I actually look forward to driving my car!

Bad Points
All the electronics are a severe pain if they go wrong. The air con fan came full and would not switch off on earlier in the year. Problem is that there is currently no Haynes manual for the car. The fault proved to be a duff fan controller and I am grateful to Mr Johnson a tthe Citroen Centre in Oxford for putting me on the right track. If you want to fit a tow bar, like I have, you will need to go for a detachable one because the towbar interferes with the parking radar.

General Comments
If you can get a good high spec itroen C5, go for it! These cars are typical Citroen. Loads of quirks but they are so gorgeous to drive, you can forgive the French engineering.